Irish Republican Army

News about Irish Republican Army, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Jan. 14, 2015

Former British Prime Min Tony Blair defends government's decision to issue Irish Republican Army fugitives written promises they will be not be arrested; denies keeping plan secret. MORE

Dec. 3, 2014

Ireland accuses Britain of torturing 14 Irish Republican Army suspects in Northern Ireland in 1971 and formally asks European Court of Human Rights to review its original findings in case; court ruled in 1978 that while British soldiers' interrogation tactics were inhumane, they fell short of torture. MORE

Nov. 26, 2014

Irish police and child protection agencies are investigating rape and sexual abuse allegations against more than 30 former members of the Irish Republican Army; inquiry is based on tips from people once linked with group, including Sinn Fein Pres Gerry Adams, whose party maintained close ties to the IRA during conflict in Northern Ireland. MORE

Oct. 22, 2014

Northern Ireland will establish independent inquiry to determine how state prosecutors handled allegations by Belfast woman Mairia Cahill that she was repeatedly raped as a teenager by Irish Republican Army member Martin Morris, then secretly interrogated by group; Cahill claims Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams was complicit in cover-up. MORE

Jun. 1, 2014

Maureen Dowd Op-Ed column describes meeting with Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams, who has been questioned in connection with the IRA's gruesome 1972 murder of Jean McConville; argues that Adams seems genuinely dedicated to ending cycle of violence and distrust, and credits him for achieving the difficult transition from armed resistance to political power. MORE

May. 23, 2014

Police in Northern Ireland say they are taking legal action against Boston College to obtain transcripts and recordings of interviews with paramilitary members on both sides of sectarian divide who took part in oral history project; had all referred to 1972 abduction, execution and secret burial of Jean McConville, widowed mother of 10 whom Irish Republican Army believed to be informer. MORE

May. 22, 2014

Helen McKendry, eldest daughter of Jean McConville, widow wrongly suspected by the Irish Republican Army of being an informer, is seeking justice for her mother's 1972 murder; has filed civil lawsuit against Sinn Fein, former political arm of the IRA and one of Ireland’s main political parties, whose leader Gerry Adams has been questioned over McConville's murder. MORE

Mar. 23, 2014

Ivor Bell, man accused of being a former Irish Republican Army Commander, is denied bail after being charged in connection with the murder of a mother of 10 in 1972, one of the most notorious crimes of the conflict in Northern Ireland; MORE

Nov. 27, 2013

Editorial criticizes Northern Ireland Atty Gen John Larkin for suggesting that it is time to limit prosecutions for violent acts committed by Irish Republican Army and other groups before country's 1998 peace accord; contends there is no need to draw a curtain on a lethal past that clearly remains deeply relevant for many people. MORE

Oct. 13, 2013

Attack by Islamic militants in Kenyan shopping mall offers parallels with past brutal, ideological killings; former Irish Republican Army assassin Sean O’Callaghan recalls murders he committed in the 1970s and offers insight into how people can become capable of such monstrosities. MORE

Jul. 6, 2013

Police in Ireland charge eight men with Irish Republican Army membership after officers raid a suspected meeting of the group's Dublin leadership. MORE

May. 23, 2013

British prosecutors charge Irishman John Downey with 1982 IRA attack on the queen’s cavalry in Hyde Park that left four soldiers and seven horses dead. MORE

Dec. 13, 2012

British Prime Min David Cameron offers apology to family of Patrick Finucane, lawyer who represented Irish Republican Army activists and was shot dead in 1989; Cameron observes that 500-page government-commissioned report on killing shows that there had been 'shocking level of state collusion' in killing. MORE

Dec. 5, 2012

Eamon Kelly, senior figure in Ireland's criminal underworld, is shot to death in Dublin two years after surviving similar assassination bid, in latest chapter of long-running feud involving Irish Republican Army die-hards; Real IRA paramilitary group is suspected in killing. MORE

Nov. 13, 2012

New group of militant Irish nationalists calling itself legitimate successor of disbanded Irish Republican Army claims responsibility for killing prison officer in Northern Ireland on November 1. MORE

Nov. 3, 2012

Police in Northern Ireland arrest three suspected Irish Republican Army militants in connection with the killing of an off-duty prison guard. MORE

Jun. 30, 2012

Editorial maintains that the handshake between Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and former Irish Republican Army commander Martin McGuinness was a simple, necessary and courageous gesture to strengthen the Northern Ireland peace process. MORE

Jun. 23, 2012

Former Irish Republican Army official Martin McGuinness will shake hands in Belfast with Queen Elizabeth II, once a prime target of IRA attacks; since the cease-fire in 1997 that effectively ended the IRA's 30-year armed campaign against British rule, McGuinness, has enjoyed a successful political career and is Northern Ireland's deputy first minister. MORE

May. 20, 2012

Seven Irish republicans are arraigned on terrorism charges after a security sweep against militants whom authorities suspect of plotting to sabotage Northern Ireland’s peace process. MORE